LOS ANGELES - ‘Til death do us part — or live long and prosper? Either will do on Sunday, as George Takei, best known as Mr. Sulu on “Star Trek,” prepares to marry his longtime partner, Brad Altman.
“We’ve been living in sin for the past 21 years,” George, 71, told People. “It’s high time we made it legitimate.”
While George told People his mood was “nervous-ville,” Brad, 54, sounded anything but.
“This is going to be the most exciting day of my life,” he told the mag. “I’m going to be married. I’m the luckiest guy in the world.”
The couple will reportedly wed Sunday evening in downtown Los Angeles.
While George has had a long career in film and television since his “Star Trek” days, including a recent role on “Heroes,” he’s still close with several of his “Trek” co-stars. Walter Koenig, who played Chekov, will serve as best man, and Nichelle Nichols, who played Uhura, is also in the wedding party.
The wedding will be the second high-profile nuptials for a same-sex couple in California since the state ruled that they had the right to marry. Talk show host Ellen DeGeneres and actress Portia De Rossi were wed in Beverly Hills last month.
SEATTLE - “Biggest Loser” alumni Matt & Suzy Hoover, both 32, welcomed their second child on Thursday, People reported.
Suzy reportedly gave birth to son Jax Paul at Valley Medical Hospital in Seattle. Jax joins older brother Rex Timothy, 14 months, and reportedly weighed in at 7.6 pounds and measured 18.75 inches.
“We’re so excited to add a new member to our family!” Matt told People. “We’re adding another healthy Hoover to our family and look forward to raising both boys in a healthy way with information we learned on the show.”
Matt & Suzy met on the second season of “The Biggest Loser” in 2005, which Matt won after dropping over 150 pounds.
The couple began dating soon after, with Matt proposing to Suzy live on NBC’s “Today” show in March 2006. They wed in September of that year in Jamaica.
But where did they get the name for their new baby?
“Our first son is named Rex, and that was unique and we wanted something that sounded similar that was also unique,” Matt said.
The former wrestling coach won’t just be sharing his life lessons with his sons. Matt has a diet and fitness manual, “Matt Hoover’s Guide to Life, Love and Losing Weight,” out Sept. 23.
Meanwhile, other families will follow in the Hoovers’ workout footsteps as NBC’s “The Biggest Loser: Families” premieres on Tuesday, Sept. 16.
LOS ANGELES - Want Britney Spears on your wall? This could be your lucky day.
The pop princess is auctioning off an original 4-foot-by-5-foot signed painting of herself to benefit the Promises Foundation, a charity that works with low-income women and their children to provide behavioral health services.
The oil painting, which was illustrated by Beverly Hills artist Daniel Maltzman, pictures the star in a bikini bottom in front of an abstract, red, white and blue setting.
The auction is currently live on eBay and has already drawn several bids. It will go until just after 5 PM on Sept. 20.
The winner will also receive a letter of authenticity from Maltzman, as well as a signed ownership letter from Jamie Spears, Brit’s father and conservator.
Britney was a winner, herself, last Sunday, picking up three Moonmen — her first after 16 previous losing nominations — at the MTV Video Music Awards. She won for Video of the Year, Best Female Video and Best Pop Video for the song “Pieces of Me.”
The sweep impressed her fellow celebs, who called the wins a big comeback for Britney.
“I’m so happy for her,” Paris Hilton told Access Hollywood backstage. “She definitely deserves it.”
BROOKLYN - Late actor Heath Ledger’s Brooklyn bar, Five Leaves, is set to open to the public on Wednesday, Us Weekly reported. The venue reportedly hosted a small opening party for friends and family on Friday night.
The bar, now funded by Heath’s estate, was backed by the actor prior to his death in January.
“It’s all meant to be a super casual California and Australia-tinged cafe, coffeehouse and oyster bar, with greenmarket snacks,” wrote a critic for New York lifestyle Web site UrbanDaddy.com.
The laid-back environment makes for “a bar that Thomas Edison might have built for his buddies,” the review continued.
And it’s not far from his family — his ex, Michelle Williams, and the couple’s daughter, Matilda, are Brooklyn residents.
The 28-year-old “Dark Knight” star died of an accidental overdose of prescription drugs. Heath earned kudos for his turn as the villainous Joker in the film, which has grossed over $500 million.
LOS ANGELES - Shannen Doherty may not be leaving “90210” just yet.
The star, who is reprising her role as Brenda Walsh on The CW’s reboot, may still sign on for more episodes.
“Shannen signed on for four episodes, which she has shot. It was Shannen’s way of thanking her fans,” a rep for the actress told the Associated Press. “If The CW comes back with an offer for additional episodes, she’s happy to consider it.”
A rep for the network previously told Access, “We’d love for her to do more.”
Fellow returning “90210” alum Jennie Garth, who plays Kelly Taylor, has already signed for more episodes, Access previously confirmed, adding five more to the six she’s already filmed. The actress plays a guidance counselor at West Beverly High — and a single mother. The father of her child is set to be revealed in this Tuesday’s episode.
NEW YORK - Gwen Stefani’s little L.A.M.B. is following her to the bar.
The pop star will design uniforms for W Hotels bar staff through her L.A.M.B. fashion line, Portfolio reported.
The uniforms, which will consist of short dresses made of washable black jersey, will reportedly appear in December or early 2009.
W Hotels sponsors a celebrity lounge at Fashion Week, where a rep for the chain said the partnership with the pop star came about.
“Gwen Stefani was in our lounge last season, and through that relationship she’s doing uniforms for the [Rande] Gerber bars located in W Hotels,” the rep told Portfolio.
The hotel chain’s employees are already stylishly clothed, wearing mix-and-match separates by Michael Kors.
As for Gwen, the new mom may be spending more time around diapers than dresses these days — she gave birth to son Zuma Nesta Rock, her second child with rocker husband Gavin Rossdale, three weeks ago.
NEW YORK - Tina Fey was “likely” to play Gov. Sarah Palin on “Saturday Night Live,” said a person close to NBC’s sketch comedy show.
Fey is “likely” to return to her former show Saturday to play the Alaskan governor and Sen. John McCain’s running mate, a person close to the show told The Associated Press on Friday night. The person requested anonymity because the decision has not been announced officially. No further details were available.
Since Palin’s entry onto the national political stage, speculation had been rampant over who might play Palin on the program. Many have commented that Fey resembles her.
In an interview earlier this week with The AP, “SNL” executive producer and creator Lorne Michaels said, “The whole world cast her in that role.”
The final decision went down to the last minute, apparently. “SNL” premieres Saturday evening with Michael Phelps as host. An appearance had been planned by Sen. Barack Obama, but his campaign said early Saturday that the Democratic nominee for president was canceling.
Fey was a cast member and writer — including a stint as head writer — for “SNL” for nine years before leaving in 2006 to star in “30 Rock,” which is also produced by Michaels. On Tuesday, Michaels said that should Fey play Palin, she was unlikely to remain in the part in the long-term, which depending on the election results, could be for four years or longer.
Fey’s publicist did not immediately return a call requesting comment.
DEAUVILLE, France - French president Nicolas Sarkozy may soon be seeing a film about himself on the big screen.
US director Marina Zenovich has set her sights on Sarkozy and hopes to release her film on the president's "soap opera" love life next year.
“I’m very interested in how he’s trying to change France - how the French are very one way and he’s trying to make them another way - but of course you can’t help seeing the soap opera of his love life,” she said. “You can’t get away from the drama of his personal life.”
Sarkozy was elected to presidency 15 months ago, and has been making reforms in France ever since. In his time in office, he has divorced his second wife and married model and pop-singer Carla Bruni after a whirlwind courtship.
Zenovich said she has not asked Sarkozy for permission to “follow him around” for the documentary, but she would go ahead with the film with or without consent.
Zenovich had recently presented her documentary on the tortured life of Oscar-winning director Roman Polanski at the Deauville American film festival. Titled “Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired”, it offers a sympathetic view of the director who fled the United States in 1978 to avoid being jailed for engaging in sex with a 13-year-old girl.
Actor Ashton Kutcher launches gossip website for girls
SAN FRANCISCO : In what could have been a sequel to one of his own smash television shows, Ashton Kutcher played celebrity-geek this week as he launched an irreverent gossip website for girls.
Katalyst Media partners Kutcher and Jason Goldberg made a pilgrimage from Hollywood to debut the Blah Girls at a TechCrunch50 gathering of promising technology startup firms in northern California.
The interactive online cartoon programme launched at www.blahgirls.com features three young female characters that dish the dirt on celebrities and pop culture in unabashed girl talk.
An online social networking component of the programme aimed at teenage girls lets viewers chime in with comments and exchange emails with Blah Girls whose responses are personalised with artificial intelligence software.
"There are plenty of gossip sites, but ours is an original take written from the perspective of the teenage girl," Kutcher told AFP in an interview at TechCrunch50.
"It is not potshots at famous people. It is humour that takes on the notion of fandom. I think girls will appreciate these characters are reacting and talking back to them."
Kutcher and Goldberg say their first online endeavor stems from their success reaching teenage audiences with television programmes such as "Punk'd" and "Beauty and the Geek."
"It feels like a natural extension, but a very different avenue," Goldberg said of setting out with Kutcher on what they hope will be the first of a series of increasingly interactive online shows.
Katalyst is tuned into the teenage demographics and companies interested in reaching that segment of the market. Kutcher and Goldberg came to TechCrunch50 to connect with people adept at the latest Internet technologies.
"We know our weaknesses," Kutcher said as he gestured toward technology startups demonstrating slick new offerings in a cavernous San Francisco Design Center.
"We are the babies here. We are surrounded by people that know more about this business than what we know."
Sponsors of the three-day startup confab include technology giants Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, MySpace and Norton from Symantec.
Startups vying to be crowned hottest offering at the event bore names such as Tweegee, Yammer, Twingz, Grokit, and Akoha.
BriteClick showed off a tool that lets people search the Internet without ever leaving a desired web page. For example, someone reading a news story could learn more about terms by simply highlighting them in the article.
"It understands the website you are on and what you are trying to do," said Dan Lee of BriteClick.
"It gives you more information in less time."
Startup Qik, which lets people easily stream live video from mobile telephones to social networking web pages or other websites, was among those that caught Kutcher's interest.
Snap Page displayed tools that would let typical people create professional looking websites.
And MobNotes showed off a network that lets people keep track of where they and friends have been and are going at any given moment of the day using the Internet and mobile device messaging.
"New technology spills out of conferences like this," Kutcher said. "I'm a bit of a geek about it. Learning keeps you from getting old."
CANBERRA, A-lister Nicole Kidman has garnered a new accolade, and it sure isn’t one to be proud of.
The Australian actress Kidman has been named the most overpaid celebrity in Hollywood in the second annual list of least bankable stars by Forbes magazine.
“Despite winning an Oscar for her performance in 2002’s 'The Hours', Kidman has become the most overpaid celebrity in Hollywood,” said Forbes.
Her films are estimated to make US$1 for every dollar she was paid compared with US$8 eight years ago.
Her movie “The Invasion”, which she starred alongside Daniel Craig, even lost US$2.68 for every dollar she was paid. Kidman reportedly received a US$17 million paycheck for her role.
“Elektra” Jennifer Garner came second in the list, her movies earning US$3.60 for every dollar she was paid.
Kidman’s ex-husband Tom Cruise took the third position, his movies earning US$4 for every dollar he was paid. His recent film “Lions for Lambs” was a flop despite a stellar cast like Robert Redford and Meryl Streep.
Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lopez, Jim Carrey, Nicholas Cage, Drew Barrymore, Will Ferrell and Cate Blanchett rounded up the list of the top ten most overpaid celebrities.
Kidman replaces fellow Australian Russell Crowe who took the top spot last year. Crowe has shown much improvement, leaping to 18th on the list of actors worth their paychecks.
LOS ANGELES - Rap star Kanye West was arrested at the Los Angeles International Airport on Thursday after attacking the paparazzi.
West was charged with felony vandalism, and his manager, Don Crowley, was also taken into custody.
The nine-time Grammy Award winner rushed towards a photographer who was snapping his photos and a scuffle ensued, which ended with West smashing the camera to the ground, breaking it into pieces.
A cameraman from celebrity news website TMZ.com, was filming the brawl when West came over to him and demanded he hand over his video camera.
West then threw the flash part of the video camera onto the ground, while his manager smashed the rest of the video camera.
West and Crowley were later stopped by police while trying to board a flight to Hawaii, and were held in police custody until posting bail later that afternoon.
The US superstar with a notorious temper is no stranger to controversy. Last year, he vowed never to return to MTV after failing to win any awards at the MTV Video Music Awards (VMA).
However, he recently ended his boycott and closed the VMAs on September 7 at Paramount Studios in Hollywood.
Mickey Rourke's Roaring "Wrestler" Wins Golden Lion
VENICE - Darren Aronofsky's "The Wrestler," starring gritty survivor Mickey Rourke, won the coveted Golden Lion at the Venice film festival on Saturday.
"I'd like to really thank the jury for making the right decision," said Rourke, 51, making a comeback after years in the cinema wilderness with his performance as a has-been professional wrestler.
Aronofsky dedicated the award "to all the wrestlers we met along the way who are making 200 dollars a night and are willing to sacrifice their bodies and their souls for it."
The film mirrors Rourke's real-life experience as a boxer in the early 1990s and his regrets over an acting career that he says he "threw away" 15 years ago.
Aronofsky said: "We need to thank Mickey Rourke for opening up his heart and soul for the camera... and reminding the world what a great talent he is."
Formidable with long blond hair that he dyes to keep the grey out, Rourke's character, whose stage name is Ram, has been around so long that kids can buy action dolls and video games featuring his stunts.
After a heart attack reduces him to working at a supermarket deli counter, Ram throws caution to the wind and climbs into the ring for more abuse and adulation.
Reflecting on his patchy career - though talk of a comeback began with his role as a hardened ex-con in the 2005 crime thriller "Sin City" - Rourke said: "Feeling shameful is not a good feeling, and usually you're to blame for it."
The Silver Lion for best director went to Russia's Aleksei German jr. for "Paper Soldier," a recreation of the Soviet effort to put the first man in space in 1961 - Yuri Gagarin - centring on the cosmonaut squad's chief doctor.
Set mainly in desolate Kazakhstan but far from the high-tech control centre and launchpad, the film shows behind-the-scenes hardships and follies, becoming a parable of Soviet nationalism while unmasking a yearning for a grander past.
The award for best actor went to Italian veteran Silvio Orlando for his role as the hapless father in "Il Papa di Giovanna," a Mussolini-era tragedy by Pupi Avati.
A pivotal act by daddy's girl Giovanna all but destroys her already tenuous relationship with her mother and lands her in a psychiatric hospital as Allied bombs begin to rain down.
French actress Dominique Blanc walked away with best actress for her role in "L'Autre" by Patrick Mario Bernard and Pierre Trividic.
She plays a woman who treasures her independence but becomes insanely jealous of her ex-boyfriend's new love. "It's with great emotion, and great joy, this is a fabulous honour," Blanc said as she accepted the award.
The special jury prize went to Ethiopian filmmaker Haile Gerima, 62, for "Teza," his attempt to reconcile an idyllic childhood with modern realities in the Horn of Africa country when it was under the heel of the dictator Mengistu.
The film also won a nod for the screenplay that contrasted life in a remote Ethiopian village with the hubbub of modern Germany.
Recalling his uphill struggle for financing stretching over 14 years, Gerima thanked Mueller for including this "little film from nowhere" among the 21 entries in this year's competition.
The 65th edition of the world's oldest movie competition had critics fuming over the quality of the films on offer.
Many panned the much-anticipated thriller by Iranian-born French director Barbet Schroeder, "Inju, the Beast in the Shadow," set in Japan, and a gangster movie set in Brazil, "Plastic City" by Hong Kong's Yu Lik-wai.
Mueller, beginning his second four-year mandate, defended the selection, describing the films as "the best that are out there."
Pavarotti's Legend Lives On
ROME - The world remembers one of the best-loved vocalists.
One year after his death, concerts and programmes commemorating Luciano Pavarotti will be held across Italy and the world, from Saturday in the tenor's hometown of Modena.
Two thousand tickets were given out as a gift from Pavarotti's hometown for Requiem de Verdi on Saturday.
The free performance was staged in a theatre that the northern Italian City had dedicated to him, said Giorgio Pighi, mayor of Modena.
In addition the Italian culture minister and the famed Scala theatre in Milan have lent their support to a singing competition which will see 250 male and female participants from all over the world.
The finals will be held on October 3.
Over in Rome, the Vittoriano museum will unveil an exhibition in early September dedicated to the tenor whose trademark is his 'high C' note.
Outside Italy, the Requiem de Verdi will be performed at the Metropolitan in New York on September 18 before some 3,000 people.
In Paris, Parc Saint-Cloud will hold a memorial concert on September 13 while those who have duetted wth Pavarotti, including Elton John, Bono, Celine Dion and Sting, will take part in a charity concert in Jordon, dubbed "Pavarotti and Friends".
"We have decided to donate all the proceeds from the concert to the United Nations, which Luciano passionately supported and represented with pride and a messenger of peace," said Pavarotti's 38-year-old widow Nicoletta Mantovani.
Pavarotti died of pancreatic caner at the age of 71 in Modena on September 6, 2007. Several thousand people attended his funeral two days later, including a display by the Italian air force's acrobatic team.
Bad Boys Come Rocking And Rolling Asia
SINGAPORE - They are the embodiment of their own music genre - sex, drugs and rock and roll.
Even with their numerous brushes with the law, addictions to alcohol and drugs and had countless escapades with women, there is no denying how Los Angeles heavy mental band Motley Crue have shaped rock and roll to what it is today.
With over 80 million records sold worldwide, the crew of Motley Crue - Tommy Lee, Vince Neil, Mick Mars and Nikki Sixx - will showcase their head-banging sounds (and nearly three decades of decadence) for the first time ever in Singapore.
Come 16 October, 8pm, Fort Canning Park will be transformed into a crazy, loud fest.
"This is not a safe bet, (neither is it) a show for the weak of heart," warned guitarist Mick Mars.
After regrouping and headlining their 2005 Carnival of Sins world tour, named by Pollstar as the number seven grossing tour of the year, The Crue is set to reclaim their rock and roll crowns again.
"We needed to make new music," said Sixx. "We're not a nostalgic act. It seemed to make sense to me to get the bull**** out of the way and just make music. We've created our own sound and it was time to do it again."
The Crue's latest release, "Saints of Los Angeles" is their first CD with the original line-up in over a decade and the ninth studio album in their career. Based on the autobiographical events with very personal lyrics, the revealing CD offers tremendous insight to the lives of the rebellious leaders of the "LA rock" movement.
MADRID - "The Argentine", a new movie by Oscar-winning US director Steven Soderberg based on the life of Latin American revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara, had its world premiere Friday in Spain to mixed reviews.
The film, which stars Puerto Rican actor Benicio Del Toro, depicts Guevara and Fidel Castro's triumphant guerrilla campaign to overthrow Cuba's government in the late 1950s.
The date for the release of a second film by Soderberg called "Guerrilla" which tracks Guevara's downfall and execution after trying to foment a similar rebellion in Bolivia in the 1960s has not yet been set.
Del Toro won the best-actor prize for his depiction of Che in the two movies at the Cannes Film Festival in May.
Soderbergh directed Del Toro to the supporting actor Oscar for 2000's "Traffic" which also took the prize for best director, best editing and best writing. Del Toro played a Mexican police officer in the film.
But conservative Spanish newspaper ABC said the the main problem of "The Argentine" was the "flatness" of the actor's depiction of Che.
"Soderberg tried to keep a distance which makes his film more didactic than political," added top-selling left-wing daily El Pais.
Soderberg, whose other films include "Erin Brockovich" and "Ocean's Eleven", said during a visit to Madrid earlier this week to unveil his film said he did not seek to "glorify" Che but rather show him "just as he was".
LOS ANGELES - There's no escaping the Phelps fever.
US swimmer Michael Phelps who has been making his rounds on TV since he returned from the Olympic Games in Beijing, has now snagged a part on HBO's "Entourage".
Phelps, a fan of “Entourage”, was immediately written into a scene after stumbling upon the set of the show in New York and was later offered a recurring role after an impressive cameo appearance on the Emmy award-winning series.
Show creator Doug Ellin thinks that the mass hysteria surrounding Phelps is stunning. He said, “The entire street stopped. I’m not exaggerating. Like buses stopped, everything, and we did three takes and at the end of that, he had to go, because New York had stopped moving.”
“It was like being in New York City with one of the Beatles,” “Entourage” star Kevin Connolly added. “People were stopping in the streets and climbing up things to see him. They were going nuts. He's like a superstar.”
The “greatest Olympian of all-time” will also show his acting chops when he hosts NBC's long-running sketch-comedy “Saturday Night Live”.
And the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards (VMA) this Sunday will see Phelps standing on the opposite end handing out awards instead of receiving them. The VMAs will be shown on cable channel MTV Asia on Monday, September 8, at 9.30pm (Singapore time).
Phelps, 23, made the talk show rounds when he first returned to the US after the Games. He was the guest of the hour in the taping of a special episode of “The Oprah Winfrey Show”, which also featured about 175 US Olympic team members.
The episode which airs September 8 in the US, is intended to welcome home the Olympians and to showcase Chicago as it bids for the 2016 Summer Olympics.
He also made an appearance on “Good Morning America” and “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno”.
LOS ANGELES – If you have never believed in the supernatural, perhaps it's time to start. Hollywood studio Columbia Pictures has confirmed the third movie instalment of the 1980s hit series, "Ghostbusters".
Fans will recall the team of 'ghostbusters' armed with their various gadgets, hunting down and exterminating evil supernatural forces in the first two films in 1984 and 1989.
Columbia has reportedly hired screenwriters Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky to write the third film.
The new film is a CGI animated project, and will reunite the original cast of “Ghostbusters” - Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis and Ernie Hudson. Comedian Ben Stiller is also rumoured to be joining the movie as a new 'ghostbusters'.
The first two “Ghostbusters” movies grossed more than US$500 million worldwide.
LOS ANGELES - Controversial film-maker Michael Moore will release his new documentary for free on the Internet.
The documentary titled “Slacker Uprising” follows Moore on a whirlwind 62-city tour of key swing states during the 2004 US presidential election, when he tried to convince young non-voters to vote.
"This is being done entirely as a gift to my fans. The only return any of us are hoping for is the largest turnout of young voters ever at the polls in November," said Moore.
“Slacker Uprising” costs US$2 million to produce, and mostly came from Moore’s own pocket.
It will be available as a free Internet download for North American residents from September 23. This download will be made available by BlipTV.
The documentary will also be released as a low-cost DVD on October 7.
Moore’s last documentary, “Sicko”, an exposé on the US’s healthcare system generated criticism, and earned US$24.5 million at the North American box office last year, as compared to US$119 million for his 2004’s political documentary “Farenheit 9/11”.
Moore gained international fame with “Bowling for Columbine”, which investigated the easy accessibility and availability of guns in the US, and suggesting this as a reason for the Columbine High School massacre.
NEW YORK - They are no longer kids, neither are they new but hit '80s boy band New Kids On The Block (NKOTB) want you to know they've still got the "right stuff".
After stepping out of the limelight for more than a decade, the boy band have reunited with a new album which was released in the United States on Tuesday.
Titled "The Block", Jordan Knight, Jonathan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg and Danny Wood said the lucrative reunions of groups like The Police and The Spice Girls had nothing to do with them getting back together.
"It was just the right timing for us," said McIntyre, the youngest member of the group.
The Boston boys went their separate ways 15 years ago to get some perspective, "We had people taking care of every little thing we wanted to do," said Wahlberg, who is the elder brother of Hollywood actor Mark Wahlberg. "We just needed time away... I think the fans needed time away too."
The time apart has certainly done them good. The first single off their fifth studio album, "Summertime", peaked at No. 36 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart after it was released in May and The Los Angeles Times reported in an early review of the album that there was a "surprising strength in most of the material" and that "believe it or not, they've got the right stuff."
Their fans seem to think so too. In May, some 4,000 hysterical gathered at the "Today" show’s plaza in New York on a rainy morning just to catch the band’s first performance together since their split.
The New Kids are confident that their comeback will not only be a success but will eclipse the recent efforts of the Backstreet Boys who were once the top-selling boy band of all time. The group have taken several breaks from the music scene throughout their career, and each time their return has failed to replicate the success of their heyday in the 1990s.
"Backstreet's records sound the same as before - their music didn't evolve like ours has,” said Wood.
For "The Block," the group worked with artistes like Timbaland, Akon, Ne-Yo and the Pussycat Dolls, to produce some “dance driven” tracks.
"Lyrically it's very reflective of who we are now," McIntyre said. "We're grown men in relationships, complicated relationships, there's ups and downs and we're all in different places in our lives."
NKOTB were still teenagers when they released their debut self-titled album in 1986. They sold more than 70 million albums, with hits including "You Got It (The Right Stuff)", "Hangin' Tough" and "I'll Be Loving You," before breaking up in the mid-1990s.
LONDON - The movie advertisements for Angelina Jolie film "Wanted" have been banned by UK's Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for glamorising gun violence.
Seventeen members of the public have lodged complaints, many of whom said the posters were unsuitable to be seen by children.
The film stars Jolie and British actor James McAvoy as a pair of assassins.
One ad featured Jolie lying on her back across the bonnet of a car, holding a gun next to the text: “We drove through the night at breath-taking speed, destroying everything in our path... welcome to the fraternity. We are a team of assassins, the weapons of fate. Kill one, save a thousand.”
“We acknowledged most viewers would understand the posters reflected the content of an action film,” the ASA said in a statement. “However, we considered that because the ads featured a glamorous actress, action poses, several images of or related to guns and aspirational text, they could be seen to glamorise the use of guns and violence."
An ASA spokesman added, “We have seen a proliferation of complaints from the public about advertising which is seen to condone gun or knife crime. We are responding to the level of consumer concern.”
The film’s makers Universal Pictures said the movie was based on a comic book and the ads were highly stylised and in keeping with the nature of the book.
The banning is unlikely to make any material difference to the commercial success of the film which was released in UK in June.
'Thunder' rules US boxoffice, 'Dark Knight' breaks 500 million
LOS ANGELES - The Ben Stiller comedy "Tropic Thunder" was the most-watched movie across North American over the long US Labor Day weekend, but it was "The Dark Knight" that made news by breaking the 500-million-dollar mark, industry figures showed Sunday.
Stiller's movie-within-a-movie, about a group of actors shooting a war film in the middle of a real-life conflict zone, scooped 14.3 million dollars from Friday to Monday in the United States and Canada, totaling 86.6 million since its opening, according to preliminary figures by box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations.
But the week's highlight was reigning summer blockbuster "The Dark Knight," which earned a third place take of 11.02 million dollars, pushing its total domestic haul to 504.7 million. The the Batman sequel is only the second film in history - after James Cameron's "Titanic" - to top the half-billion-dollar mark.
Debuting at second place was Babylon A.D., a sci-fi action thriller starring Vin Diesel and Michelle Yeoh which earned 12 million dollars.
Slipping two places to fourth with 10.5 million was the comedy "The House Bunny," about an ousted Playboy bunny who becomes the house mother at a dysfunctional college sorority.
Fifth with 10 million dollars was another debut, "Traitor," a war-on-terror epic featuring Don Cheadle as a former US Special Ops officer and potential international conspirator.
"Death Race," a futuristic action-adventure flick starring Jason Statham as an ex-convict forced to compete against prison inmates in a brutal, freedom-or-death car race, raked in 8.2 million dollars for sixth place.
Debuting at seventh with 7 million was the natural disaster spoof "Disaster Movie," about a band of bunglers struggling to survive as the world comes to an end. The ill-timed film opened as the US Gulf Coast faces the imminent wrath of Hurricane Gustav.
Holding on to eight place was the Abba musical remake "Mamma Mia!" with 5.8 million dollars, for a total seven-week take of 132.9 million, followed by marijuana comedy "Pineapple Express," starring Seth Rogen and James Franco, which earned 4.5 million.
Rounding out the top 10 was Woody Allen's latest film, the romantic comedy "Vicky Cristina Barcelona," with 3.5 million.
Indian sitar maestro Ravi Shankar on European farewell tour
PARIS - Indian sitar maestro Ravi Shankar is all set for his last European performance in France but hopes this will not be his last concert there.
The 88-year-old musician is giving a masterclass at the Salle Pleyel in Paris on Tuesday evening.
As Shankar entered the stage to a standing ovation during a farewell concert on Monday, he said, "My dear friends in Paris. It is supposed to be my last concert here. I hope this is not the case!"
Shankar gave a stellar performance despite his poor health, which had delayed both performances for months.
The audience, made up of a mix of fifty-somethings and youngsters, listened intently as Shankar performed alongside his daughter Anoushka, a tabla drum player and two lute players.
Despite needing help to get on stage and not being able to sit cross-legged, Shankar proved to be a master musician, performing for 90 minutes over three different parts.
George Harrison's widow Olivia was in the audience, and so was Nicolas Godin from the French electric-pop band Air.
Shankar, a performer, composer, teacher, and writer, is credited with making Indian music popular in the West, where his eclectic sound is often mixed into pop songs. He will head to the United States in October for four more concerts.
Shankar is India's best-known musician and a three-time Grammy award winner.
His second daughter is the eight-time Grammy award winner Norah Jones, and is best known for her hit single "Don't Know Why".
Garcia Marquez: 'There's no better job' than journalism
MEXICO CITY - Colombian writer and Nobel laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez hailed journalism as the best profession, in rare public comments in northern Mexico.
"There's no better job" than journalism, said the 81-year-old author of 'One Hundred Years of Solitude,' who started out as a journalist and often says he writes to avoid having to speak.
"We enjoy it when we find a jewel (of a story), but suffer like dogs when we see language used badly," said Garcia Marquez, who has lived in Mexico for several decades. The author spoke late Monday at a seminar in the northern city of Monterrey.
Garcia Marquez lamented the lack of time that modern journalists have to carry out their work, in a conversation with students and journalists.
"When someone is under pressure, they don't have time to think, and the next day they say to themselves: 'it would have been better to do this'," he said.
It bothered him so much that he sometimes telephoned editors and journalists to argue it out with them.
"It's better to write a book," said the author of many non-fiction works and short stories, as well as acclaimed novels 'Love in the Time of Cholera' and 'Chronicle of a Death Foretold.'
Garcia Marquez, famous for popularizing the literary style known as magical realism, won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1982.
His most recent novel, 'Memories of My Melancholy Whores,' follows the romance of a 90-year-old and a pubescent girl. The book was banned in Iran.
He confirmed that he would finish another book, about love, before the end of the year.
Asked if it would be his last, Garcia Marquez replied: "The last? Never."
Rolling Stones' 'Tongue' sold to museum
LONDON - London's Victoria and Albert Museum has acquired the original artwork of The Rolling Stones' iconic red lips and tongue logo.
The world's largest museum of art and design paid US$92,500 for "The Tongue" which was sold by Chicago-based website Mastro Auctions.
British artist John Pasche, who put up the sale, designed the logo in 1970 and was paid £50 for his creation. He was later paid an additional £200 because The Rolling Stones were so pleased with the design.
First used on the band's 1971 album "Sticky Fingers", it is considered one of the first examples of a rock group using a trademark and remains the band's logo to this day.
The logo is said to represent lead singer Mick Jagger's lips. V&A's head of exhibitions Victoria Broakes said that the design was "arguably the world's most famous rock logo".
Independent art charity The Art Fund contributed half of the cost of the artwork. The Art Fund's director David Barrie described the logo as "one of the most visually dynamic and innovative logos ever created".
He said, "Designed in the UK by a British artist for one of the country's most successful groups of all time, it's wonderful that it has now found a permanent home in London, where the band was originally formed."
The artwork will be featured in V&A's permanent collection.
George Clooney drums up campaign dollars for Obama
GENEVA - Hollywood megastar George Clooney was to be the the star attraction Tuesday at a Swiss fundraising gala for US Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama, a report said.
Around 170 US citizens have paid 1,000 dollars a head to hear Clooney, fresh from his appearance at the Venice Film Festival, sing Obama's praises at the Geneva event, organisers told Swiss news agency ATS.
Clooney was also due to attend a private dinner at the home of lawyer and chief event organiser Charles Adams along with 75 other guests who have each stumped up 10,000 dollars for the privilege.
Organisers hoped the two events would raise nearly one million dollars for the Obama campaign.
Clooney is an avowed liberal and Democrat supporter and has long been a champion of Obama, the senator from Illinois who is hoping to oust the Republicans after eight years in the White House.
"I've been an Obama guy for a year-and-a-half and I'm very excited by his campaign," Clooney said in February.
John Lennon biopic 'Nowhere Boy' coming to big screen
LONDON - A big screen adaptation of the early years of John Lennon has been confirmed.
The movie is expected to be called "Nowhere Boy" and will concentrate on the rock legend's troubled adolescence being raised in Liverpool and his early steps to stardom.
In addition, the film will examine the influence Lennon's aunt and mother played on his life.
"The women in John's early life truly shaped who he became, and the strengths and weaknesses of their relationships are central to this film," said artist turned director, Sam Taylor-Wood.
Taylor-Wood will shoot on location in Lennon's hometown of Liverpool and casting for the major roles "is under way," said producer Ecosse Films, which is developing the project with the UK Film Council.
"I am truly excited at the prospect of Sam Taylor-Wood bringing her singular artistic vision to the story," shared Robert Bernstein of Ecosse Films.
While not having directed a feature film before, Taylor-Wood has a history of working with musicians, having worked with Elton John and the Pet Shop boys on various projects.
Films at Venice film festival underwhelm
VENICE - The 2008 Venice film festival has been described as one of the weakest in recent years and as it reaches the midway stage on Monday, needs more hits to light up the main competition.
The annual film festival held at the Venice Lido since 1932 attracts the world's biggest movie stars and most accomplished film makers, and has earned a reputation for kicking off the awards season that culminates in the Oscars.
"What the festival has shown is that 2008 is simply a bad year for film," Jay Weissberg of trade publication Variety said. "The overall impression here is one of disappointment and everybody is desperate for a really good film in competition."
There has been little buzz about lead performances and more importantly, critics have said that the movies on show have been generally poor.
Of the 21 films in the main competition that vie for the coveted Golden Lion at a prize ceremony on Saturday, two Japanese entries are in the running for the top award that has gone to an Asian director for the last three years.
Festival director Marco Mueller has been under scrutiny this year for what some journalists call a Hollywood-light lineup. Despite the red carpet appearance of Hollywood megastars George Clooney and Brad Pitt at the opening film, the star power has waned since then.
Some critics said that to focus on stars was to miss the point of the world's oldest film festival. The aim of the festival is "to encourage the awareness and the promotion of all of the various aspects of international cinema as art, entertainment and industry, in a spirit of freedom and tolerance".
"Film festivals are about cultural diversity and curiosity, about seeing new things and discovering new trends, so I think the criticism of the selection is a bit unfair," said Manuela Grassi, who covers the festival for weekly magazine Panorama.
This year's festival runs from August 27 to September 6.
French First Lady to jam with McCartney, Metallica
LONDON - Former supermodel turned French first-lady and ballad chanteuse Carla Bruni will put her musical credentials on the line when she appears on new music show "Later... with Jools Holland" on BBC television.
Bruni will perform "a song or two from her recently released third album" titled "Comme si di Rien n'etait" (Simply), the BBC said in a statement.
Together with her on the show would be ex-Beatle Sir Paul McCartney and hard rock metal band Metallica, who are returning after a 12-year absence.
Sir Paul McCartney is set to headline the show with the first performance of "The Fireman" - his new collaboration with producer Youth - a song being described as "Arcade Fire meets Led Zeppelin".
Metallica will be presenting new material from their most recent release "Death Magnetic".
The French first lady's album was released in July and had come under fire for its explicit lyrics that likened her lover to addictive drugs.
According to the staff of the Jools Holland show, a joint performance has not been ruled out.
The "Later... with Jools Holland" show traditionally opens with Holland playing the piano while his guests jam along.
Singer Estelle drops down US charts after being pulled from iTunes
LOS ANGELES - UK R&B singer Estelle plunges down the US charts after her record label plucked her off the US iTunes music store.
Record label Warner decided to follow in Kid Rock's footsteps, after his album sold 1.7 million copies and reached number one despite his insistence to keep his music off the iTunes music store.
Warner had hoped that this move would encourage fans to buy Estelle's CD "Shine", instead of individual digital song tracks, which is not as lucrative for the company.
A spokesman for Warner told the Wall Street Journal that the removal was a strategy "uniquely tailored to each artiste and their fanbase in an effort to optimise revenues and promote long-term artiste development".
However, this had backfired for Estelle who saw her smash hit single "American Boy" featuring Kanye West fall from 11 to 37 on the Billboard Hot 100, merely a week after her removal from iTunes.
Meanwhile, her album has nose-dived, dropping over 100 places to 159 on the Billboard album rundown. "Shine", which has been nominated for the prestigious Mercury Music Prize in the UK, had previously spent 17 comfortable weeks on the chart, peaking at 37.
To add insult to injury, an opportunistic band called the Studio All-Stars did a cover version of "American Boy", which appears at number 43 on the download chart.
The album is still available in the UK iTunes music store, and it remains to be seen whether this will be implemented in other countries as well.
NEW YORK – A New York politician has declared August 23 as Michael Jackson Day. Hundreds of fans came together at the Caribbean Cultural Center in Manhattan to celebrate Jackson's birthday, as the King of Pop turns 50 on August 29, proving he is no Peter Pan.
Michael Jackson is a name that has reached far and wide. Most people know of him and his colourful life, whether the reasons are good or bad. He started out as part of The Jackson Five and eventually became a solo artiste, dazzling music producers and audiences all over the world.
His first album "Off The Wall" produced mega hits like "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" and "Rock With You". His second album "Thriller" swept seven Grammy awards.
Jackson reached a new high in the early 1980s, creating his signature “moonwalk”, a smooth dance that still leaves a lasting impression. Monster hits like “Billie Jean”, “We Are the World”, “Thriller” and “Beat It” are still heard on the radio today. He was nicknamed “King of Pop” by Elizabeth Taylor, who described him as “the true king of pop, rock and soul”.
People started questioning Jackson in mid 1980s, when his multiple cosmetic surgeries became too obvious to ignore. His nose, chin, eyes, and cheeks were all altering drastically. The most glaring of all the changes was his lightening skin colour, which he blamed on a skin condition.
His displays of erratic behaviour continued over the next 20 years.
He splashed out US$17 million on 2,700 acres of land to build Neverland Ranch, a private amusement park. He wore surgical masks in public. He had two short-lived marriages – one with the daughter of Elvis Presley, Lisa Marie Presley, and another with a dermatologist’s nurse. He caused controversy when he dangled his then-toddler son off a balcony.
He was also first accused of child molestation, which was eventually settled out of court for US$22 million. Instead of the King of Pop, people were dubbing him “Wacko Jacko”, and his career was in the rut.
But it was another child molestation accusation in 2003 that saw Jackson being formally charged in court. The trial dragged on for two years, and Neverland Ranch was searched for molestation evidence. Jackson was eventually acquitted, but sordid details and allegations revealed during the trial ruined his reputation and career beyond repair.
It is undeniable though, that Jackson’s reign in the music industry for almost two decades rightfully earned him the title of "Most Successful Entertainer of All Time" by the Guinness Book of Records. He has also been inducted into the prestigious Rock & Roll Hall of Fame twice, which solidifies his title as King of Pop.
It doesn’t matter whether you recognise him as the King of Pop or Wacko Jacko. Michael Jackson has left his mark in history, for better or worse.
LOS ANGELES – For David Duchovny, it’s a case of real life imitating reel life. The actor, whose Golden Globe winning role as sex-loving novelist in TV series "Californication", has checked himself into rehabilitation for sex addiction.
The 48-year-old, who became a household name after his role as Special Agent Fox Mulder in "The X-Files", has admitted to his sex addiction in a released statement from his attorney.
Duchovny said in the statement, "I have voluntarily entered a facility for the treatment of sex addiction. I ask for respect and privacy for my wife and children as we deal with this situation as a family."
Duchovny has been married to actress Tea Leoni since 1997, and they have two children together.
The second X-Files movie - "The X-Files: I Want to Believe", released this year after a long hiatus of 15 years, had a poor showing at the box office. Duchovny and co-star Gillian Anderson had claimed that the timing of the film release coincided with the much anticpated "The Dark Knight", affecting the movie’s performance at the box office.
LOS ANGELES - Singer and songwriter Neil Diamond is offering audiences of a recent Ohio concert a refund after his raspy voice caused some unhappiness amongst fans.
Some even left during the 67-year-old’s performance on Monday.
Diamond’s spokeswoman said a refund will be given to those who place a request before September 5.
“Dear Fans in Columbus, I haven’t let you down before and I won’t let you down now,” Diamond apologised on his website.
Diagnosed with acute laryngitis, his ailment also forced Diamond to cancel two concerts this week in Green Bay, Wisconsin and St Louis, Missouri. Both concerts have been rescheduled for dates in September.
His heydays in the 1960s and 1970s saw the New York City native writing popular radio tunes for 1960s pop group “The Monkees” and his hits include “Kentucky Woman” and “Sweet Caroline”, which was inspired by a childhood picture of Caroline Kennedy.
“Sweet Caroline” is the theme song of the Boston Red Sox baseball team.
NEW YORK - Victoria’s Secret has a new angel in town.
The top lingerie fashion house has signed on 23-year-old Doutzen Kroes as one of the special group of models the company calls “Victoria's Secret Angels”.
Kroes joins the ranks of millionaire supermodels Heidi Klum and Adriana Lima, as well as past angels like Gisele Bundchen and Tyra Banks.
Along with Lima to promote the new lingerie from the "Supermodel Obsessions" range in New York, the Dutch model said, “It was just amazing and unbelievable and a dream coming true.”
Lima, according to Forbes.com, raked in US$7 million last year.
However, Kroes is no stranger to fame and fortune.
Gracing the covers of several fashion and society magazines such as Vogue and Harper's Bazaar, and starring in advertisements for Calvin Klein and Dolce & Gabbana, Kroes was reported to have earned US$6 million last year.
In April 2006, she signed a three-year contract with L'Oreal Paris, and can now be seen in the company's commercials alongside Eva Longoria and Kerry Washington.
